Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1887-11-18
NO, 4I.
BESIEGED BY A PYTHON.
WEIRD TALE OF A CLERKS TER
RIBLE EXPERIENCE.
A Huge Snake at large in
Counting ROOm.-Eaking Ref
uge i'm n Safe.-A Lucky Es-
c=na.

uge i'm n Safe.-A Lucky Es-
cape.
Twenty years ago I was the managing
clerk in an English merchants office.
My work was heavy. Many nights |
sat at my books until into the small
hours of the morning. Once or twice
actually dozed off into a sleep, to be
awakened by the woman who cleaned
the various rooms coming to her work.
The house was connected with had
a branch establishment in India doing a
large business, and many curious con-
signments of goods, quite outside of our
usual articles of commerce, passed
through our hands. Priceless cloths
and native fabrics, brass and gold orna-
ments set with precious stones, collec-
tions of stones, botanical specimens,
birds, animals--everything, in fact, until
at times the contents of the cases, If
opened and spread out, would have
made a very average museum.
One afternoon a large box was de-
livered from one of the ships labelled
"To be kept in a moderately warm
place" l was away from the ware
house at the time of its arrival, and the
men placed it in the outer office. On
my return casually noticed the case in
passing, and saw that one end was
slightly cru1hcd, as if by some heavier
case falling on it. This was mere ac-
cidental observance.
My private office was just four walls,
hung with maps and charts. A writing
bureau in the centre of the floor behind
the door; behind the bureau large
iron fireproof safe some six feet high
and four feet square, standing twelve or
fourteen inches from the wall, and
case of books and three or four chairs
completed the inventory. l was going
to work late, and in short time was
alone in the large building.
worked steadily until midnight.
arose and paced about the room for a
few minutes.
A sound, as of a chair being moved
in the adjoining room, startled me.
stepped to the door, and opened it.
The light from a street lamp lit the
room fairly we'll, and after glance l
concluded it must have been fancy, and
returned to my desk, leaving the door
open.
A few minutes afterward, a faint,
harsh sound came from the same dircc-
tion, a curious, rubbing sound, undenia-
bly, within the next room, and quite as
undeniably moving toward the door
leading to where was sitting.
rose to my feet, and as I did so the
head and neck of hugh snake pro-
truded through the doorway into the
well-lit room.
I stood transfxed with horror.
When the reptile saw me it stopped
for second, its eyes grew more and
more afame until they rescmbled two
luri balls of fire, its tongue darted in
and out of its mouth, and the head
raised higher and higher until nearly
level with my own. 1 could hear its
body coiling and recoiling in fury in the
darkness beyond, and there l st ood
powerless, unarmed, and apparently
unable even to move.
/ looked once around in a despairing
search for some outlet of escape, and,
as l took my eyes from those of the
horrid reptile, it lowered its head and
darted toward me. Another second and
it would have caught me, when, seeing
the open safe, rushed in and shut the
door. A small petty cash book fell to
the floor, half in, half out of the safe,
holding the door open about half an
inch.
But for that book would have speedi-
ly been suffocated. Not thinking of
that stopped and tried to draw the
book inside, but the snake, moving
simultaneously with myself, had dashed
itself against tho safe, and in its brute fury
thinking the safe part and parcel of myself
had thrown its coils around it, COM
pressing the door so tightly that I for
tunately could not remove the book,
which was my sole means of ventilation
Half crazed with fright I pulled and
lugged at it without avail The perspi-
ration rolled down my face, my heart
beat almost to bursting, and even with
the book holding the door ajar seemed
to be at the point of suffocation. Gasp
ing for breath and utterly nerveless ]
fell against the door and slid to the floor
in dead faint.
How long l remained SO 1 cannot tell
perhaps few minutes, perhaps an hour.
At last my senses returned, and although
dreadfully cramped by the position into
which l had subsidized in the narrow
space, felt had not the power to rise,
and lay there gazing through the narrow
opening at the two folds which encir-
cled my refuge, feeling horrible sensa-
tion that Ishall never forget. l even
passed my finger out and touched one,
feeling quivering movement that told
me the reptile had drawn its coils to
their utmost tension in the hope OF
crushing the she'll that held the precious
kernel of myself.
l. By an effort collected my ideas, and,
remembering the box and the crushed
end, could readily account for the pres
ence of the intruder. l knew that il
was customary to feed them to safety
before shipping, send them off, and as
rule they arrived here still in the state
of stupor. This one might have had a
long passage, and coming out of the
sleep wanted water, grew furious, burst
the weak end of the case, and finding
me attacked me by instinct
grew calmer and investigated my
position thoroughly. l rose to my feet,
and as did so my foot rested on some-
thing uneven. Ipicked it up and found
it to be one of those long ink erasers,
having blade about four inches long
sharp as razor, tempered like Damas-
Gus blade, tho handle being about five
inches long and lit in shape. 1t must
have fallen out of the cash book, these
knives frequently being shut in the
books by the careless clerks. Taking